Saturday, July 19, 2014

Mission Goodzilla

I
walked the path I had come in from, jubilant and satisfied. It had been a
simple mission, neither too long nor tiring, but still tough in its own way. The
toughness had been had been multiplied by the fact that I had to do it in broad
daylight, but there hadn’t been another option. Night-vision was a luxury I
couldn’t afford, and without that, I wouldn’t be able to even track the enemy.
So I had set off just like that, in the middle of the day, and now as the sky
was painted in the many hues of orange and red and purple and blue, I sat down
on the side, sweat trickling down my neck and settling into my already damp
combat apparel. The adventure came back to me, it was a memory, an
accomplishment, a one man mission in enemy territory, and I had prevailed in
it, that too in my first attempt.

I
had been working quietly at my base camp when the alarm had sounded. One of the
drones had detected heavy movement in enemy lines, and the spies soon sent word
that one of the main commanders of the enemy was going to be travelling alone
for the whole day, without a single guard. A better opportunity had never
presented itself, and I was the only one at base camp, so the responsibility
fell on my head, an analyst’s head.

The
exact coordinates of the enemy’s position came in within the next minutes, and
as I prepared to depart, with all my equipment, the orders to shoot-at-sight
came in. The mission was a green, and I was good to go.

An
hour later, I spotted the enemy, through my binoculars, and the thought of bringing
my sniper rifle along struck me. I had decided on the traditional SWAT approach
of grenades and a M16 in order to identify the victim before blowing his head
apart. I had initially expressed the desire to take him in alive, but that
would increase the risk, and it was worthless anyways as I didn’t speak any of
their languages. I would have to draw my first blood, and my conscience would
have to understand that everything was fair in war.

I
trudged through the fields, the light around me not hiding my progress or my
approach. My feet rustled against something on the ground, and he turned and
looked me straight in the eye. I didn’t move an inch, terrified. The unblinking
stare never shifted, and if looks could kill, I would have been dead by now. As
soon as the sun came out from behind the clouds, I ran through the underbrush,
and established a new stronghold. I was halfway, exactly between camp and the
enemy, as my GPS informed me, and I had to keep going.

My
eyes were set on him, as he basked in the sun, majestic and with the air of
someone resting in a safe haven. There was no cover around, for him to run, or
for me to hide, and one of us would die today, now; and I had to make sure it
was he who did the journey into the skies. I sensed the building heat, and I
knew the sun would come out again, within seconds, and that was my cue to rush
forward, closer than ever.

Pulling
out the flash-bang grenade from my belt, I threw it in an arc towards him, and
it exploded right in front of him. He was dazed, and yet clawing at his eyes,
and trying to look for an escape route, which didn’t exist. Within minutes, he
lay immobile on the floor, with the gas swirling around, as I walked through
the fumes. He was writhing in pain, and I verified his identity from the dossier
I had.’

It
was the end, his end, and the humanity in me made me give him a quick death.
Two bursts from my gun and he slumped to the floor, his face beyond
recognition.

As
I drank from the canteen, the cool water pleasured my throat, and I browsed
through the mission particulars. I intently stared at the image I had taken,
and I smiled. I had succeeded, in many ways than one, and I had proved my worth
as a field agent as well.

Here
is an image of the one I killed.

PS:
This is not a true story, and has just been written about the reactions we show
to the lizards creeping in our bathrooms. At times we react quite hysterically
and end up stalking and then killing the lizard. Just that it struck me to make
a mission out of it, and put it up here. This is just for the sake of entertainment and for the sake of doing something with an anti-climax. :P